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On today's show, Mark and Mike continue their three-part series comparing those rides that exist in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World to decide which version of each they like best.

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Feature: Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World: Ride by Ride, part 2

Mark and Mike continue to discuss those attractions that exist in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World to decide which version of each they like best.

Here's how it played out:

Mike

Mark

Castle (Sleeping Beauty vs. Cinderella)

Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

Carrousel (King Arthur vs. Prince Charming)

Disneyland

Disneyland

Snow White's Scary Adventures

Disneyland

Disneyland

Peter Pan

Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

Mad Tea Party

Disneyland

Disneyland

it's a small world

Disneyland

Disneyland

Monorail

Disneyland

Walt Disney World

Autopia vs. Tomorrowland Speedway

Disneyland

Disneyland

Innoventions vs. Innoventions

Disneyland

Disneyland

Captain EO

pass

Walt Disney World

Space Mountain

Walt Disney World

Disneyland

Buzz Lightyear (Space Ranger Spin vs. Astro Blasters)

Disneyland

Walt Disney World

Starcade vs. Tomorrowland Light & Power Authority

Walt Disney World

Disneyland

Astro Orbitor

Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

Star Tours

Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

The Magic, the Memories, and You

pass

Walt Disney World

Nighttime Fireworks

Disneyland

Disneyland

Mark also teased Walt Disney World for the disappearance of Toontown and teased Disneyland for the PeopleMover no longer functioning.

Listen to the show to find out why they picked what they did! Also, please send us feedback on your picks, but only on these attractions! We'll ask for your input on the rest of the attractions as we look at them over the last show!

Listener Feedback

Perry Hacker responded to our last show by writing that he loves the new interactive queue at Walt Disney World's version of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

We heard from Dan the Light Man for the first time in a long time. He met Mark at Walt Disney World since he last called in. He and Nancy the Light Girl haven't stopped listening, though. Dan and Nancy met Mark in October and got to wander the Food & Wine Festival for a while. Dan also talked about how he and Nancy got to meet Epcot Executive Chef Jens Dahlmann when they asked for help in enjoying the Festival with Nancy's food allergies. Jens went through kiosk by kiosk, and hand-did a whole menu for them. They went back in February, did a cruise on the Disney Dream and had a great time. Dan had 4 appetizers & 4 main courses in Enchanted Garden, including Mark's favorite dish, the scallops with asparagus. They got back to land in time to catch the opening of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Paul Jones (via Facebook): How to handle questions/help friends plan trips since you are knon as a "Disney expert".

Paul Jones (via Facebook): Maybe some ideas about how to you guys continue to make the trips "new" and exciting even though it is your third, fourth, etc, trip to WDW.

Leslie Farr (via Facebook): What's the best way to use transportation ..... buses,boats,monorail,trains,own car.?

Brian Jonas (via Facebook): Mike and Mark's all-time personal top 3 Magical Moments from each of the theme parks.

March of Dimes

MousePlanet readers and MouseStation listeners have helped Mark to raise nearly $20,000 for the March of Dimes over the last five years to help save the lives of babies born prematurely. This year, his goal is to raise another $5,000. Mike has also signed on to walk for Team MousePlanet as well. You can go to Mark's fundraising page to sponsor him, Mike's fundraising page to sponsor him, or the Team MousePlanet page to join in and walk yourself! If you join us in walking, the money you raise will go to help babies in your area! Help us to provide a better chance to prevent prematurity and to help those babies that are born prematurely, because new parents should take their babies home from the hospital, not to the cemetery.

Comments

By IllusionOfLife on Tue, 10 May 2011 11:22:15 -0700

Same deal as last time, I'm going to skip anything I don't have enough experience and/or opinion to make any meaningful comment on.

Castle (Sleeping Beauty vs. Cinderella):
This one's tricky, because unlike Mike and Mark, Disneyland is my home park, so I have the most nostalgia associated with Sleeping Beauty's castle, I also think the new Sleeping Beauty Walkthrough is great, and I like that it's surrounded by a proper moat. However, Cinderella's Castle is far more grand in terms of scale, and is quite breathtaking to behold. We didn't have a chance to eat in the restaurant, and obviously haven't stayed in the Dream Suite, so no comment there. I think I'm going to go with Disneyland, primarily for nostalgic reasons, and the fact that you don't have to pay anymore to go up inside the castle, but as I said, it's a tough call.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant:
I'll bring this up probably multiple times throughout the Fantasyland section, but Fantasyland at Disneyland seems to have a synergy and organization that feels more intuitive and magical than WDW's Fantasyland. So Dumbo already has that going for it at Disneyland, but as for the ride itself, I like the water in the landing trenches. It's a simple thing, but it adds a nice extra touch. For those reasons I'm going with the Disneyland version, however, I expect to change my mind once the new version opens at Disney World.

Carrousel (King Arthur vs. Prince Charming):
This is kind of six one, half-dozen the other to me, but I think I like the aesthetic of King Arthur's Carousel better. Plus it benefits from that Fantasyland synergy that Disney World doesn't have (I'm hoping this changes with the Fantasyland update).

Peter Pan:
Although I think the continuously loading system of Peter Pan at Disney World is fantastic, and a great leg up of WDW over Disneyland, but for some reason the Disney world version didn't feel as immersive. Without even trying I could easily pick out emergency exits and behind the scenes stuff at Disney World that are much better hidden at Disneyland, and due to that it didn't feel quite as magical. For that simple reason, I'm giving the Disneyland version the edge.

Mad Tea Party:
Again, that Fantasyland synergy at Disneyland is what gives this the edge. It's in almost an Alice in Wonderland sub-land and feels much more immersive because of it. I also prefer the open air approach.

it's a small world:
As you said, this one's an easy one. Disneyland has the better facade, it has the better surrounding theming, it even has the Disney figures inside (which I personally enjoy, even if it is the subject of much controversy). Disney World has more water, but that's the only thing it really has going for it over Disneyland. Disneyland hands down.

Monorail:
This one's tricky, because I like the aesthetic and the actual ride of the Disneyland version better, but I prefer that Disney World's monorail fulfills Walt's idea of using it as a proper transportation system. I keep hoping that one day Disney will expand the track of the Anaheim Monorail to make stops at the Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotels, but for now I'll give Disney World the leg up on this one for not only being a fun attraction, but a great means of transportation.

Autopia vs. Tomorrowland Speedway:
It's time for some irony folks! I've been engaging in a very good debate on whether or not Autopia at Disneyland is worth the land it's built on (which is as much land as the rest of Tomorrowland excluding itself), and I'm personally in the crowd that says please bulldoze the sucker and give us three or four really great new rides instead. However, I think the Disneyland version has better theming than the Disney World version. Maybe it's just because I'm not really a car racing fan, but the Tomorrowland Speedway feels kind of bland by comparison. However, Disney World's version isn't nearly as large, so I'll give it that, but I'd take Disneyland's over Disney World's.

Innoventions vs. Innoventions:
Ugh, both are massive wastes of space, in my opinion, and both would benefit from being just about anything but themselves. But I'll give Disneyland the edge because the building is cooler and the House of the Future is kinda neat.

Buzz Lightyear (Space Ranger Spin vs. Astro Blasters):
Astro Blasters, Astro Blasters, hands-down Astro Blasters. It probably didn't help Disney World that Space Ranger Spin opened a year before Toy Story 2 came out, and during that time Pixar basically rebuilt the movie from scratch (it's actually quite an amazing story if you don't already know it), but Space Ranger Spin just doesn't match what you see in the beginning of Toy Story 2 at all. Andrew Stanton isn't doing the voice of Zurg, the aesthetic stuff is all wrong, it doesn't have the same charming remixes of Randy Newman's songs, and the blasters are stuck to the cars. Astro Blasters on the other hand, gets all of that right. Zurg has the right voice, the blasters work better (for the most part), it has better music, better sets, a better story, and the online connectivity. Astro Blasters is hands down the winner.

Astro Orbitor:
Again, this is another case where I like the aesthetic of the Disneyland version better, but it is a road block, it is on the ground, it doesn't have the cool elevator. It's just not as good as a ride as the Disney World version.

Star Tours:
I'm going with Disney World here due to the exterior. Walking underneath the full size AT-AT, seeing the Ewok village, and posing for a picture on the Speeder bike are all way cooler than the nice mural they have at Disneyland. The rides are identical, but the exterior is way better at Disney World.

Nighttime Fireworks:
As you guys astutely pointed out, there's no competing with Remember, Dreams Come True. As long as Disneyland keeps showing that, even just once a year, it will still be the better fireworks park.

EDIT: Oh, I also thought of one more in Tomorrowland that you guys didn't mention. It's kind of a stretch, which is probably why you skipped over it, but it's similar enough that other people have made the comparison.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage vs. The Seas with Nemo and Friends opening ride:
Obviously, Submarine Voyage is overall the cooler experience because you're actually in a submarine underwater, but I think one thing that The Seas version does really well is how it opens up at the end with the projections inside the aquarium. It's a great effect that's quite breath taking, and Disney World also has a much better queue, but it's still not quite enough to top Submarine Voyage.

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